Boppist

/ˈbɒpɪst/ noun

Definition

A musician or enthusiast who plays or listens to bebop, a fast and complex style of jazz music that emerged in the 1940s.

Etymology

From 'bebop' or 'bop,' the jazz style itself (onomatopoetic, mimicking the syncopated sounds), plus the agent suffix '-ist' meaning one who practices or follows something.

Kelly Says

The bebop revolution in the 1940s literally changed how musicians thought about improvisation—boppists like Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie rejected the predictable swing formulas and created a language of music so complex that it eventually influenced classical composers like Igor Stravinsky.

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